HOULTON, Maine — RSU 29 welcomed two new employees, but said goodbye to two others during Monday night’s regular board meeting.
The school board unanimously approved the hiring of Molly Dunn as a grade 1 teacher at Wellington Elementary School and Debra Jago Wynes as a special education instructor at the high school.
The board also learned that Houlton Junior-Senior High School Assistant Principal Dawn Matthews and high school social studies teacher Tim Tweedie were resigning from their positions. The resignations came as a surprise to some school board members.
Tweedie has been with the district for six years, while Matthews has been with the district for 10 years and served as the assistant principal since Aug. 2009.
“Tim has chosen to go back to the business world,” Superintendent Mike Hammer said. “I know it was a difficult decision for him to make. He and I talked about this a couple of times and we support him. This will be a tough position to fill.”
Matthews is leaving RSU 29 to become the K-12 principal at East Grand School.
“I have had multiple conversations with Dawn and completely support her decision,” Hammer said. “It’s an opportunity to go to the next level of administration. I can fully appreciate when somebody wants to take over his or her own building. It will be an exciting challenge for her.”
The board also approved a new varsity coach for the high school hockey program. Tony Marino was named varsity hockey coach, replacing long-time coach Joel Trickey.
In other agenda items, the board:
• Locked in heating oil prices at $3.11 for Houlton Elementary, Southside and Junior-Senior High schools and $3.25 at Wellington Elementary School. That amount is up from last year’s figures of $3.03 and $3.13 respectively.
• Learned the state may take back some of the costs associated with the teacher retirement plan, meaning the district would not have to raise as much money as it initially thought. Hammer said the figures from the state, however, were not final.
• Watched a short video from an elementary school in Seaside Heights, N.J. that sustained serious damage from Hurricane Sandy. The school district had sent the New Jersey school a donation to help with the rebuilding effort.
The next regular meeting will be Monday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. in the high school library.
